After the U.S. exit from the World Cup, social media began discussing the "Trump Curse": fans recall the defeats of teams he has supported.
Call it what you will, but after the humiliating defeat of the U.S. national team by Belgium in the current World Cup — a match overshadowed by the biggest scandal of the tournament — the term "Trump Curse" has trended online.
Fans accused Trump of interfering and cursing the U.S. team after he boasted that he called FIFA President Gianni Infantino and got the red card against American forward Folarin Balogun overturned.
Critics accused Trump and FIFA of corruption, and the European Commission demanded "justice and transparency" following the scandalous red card incident. A letter even began circulating in the European Parliament, urging an investigation into whether Trump's pressure influenced FIFA's decision to rescind the suspension.
In any case, Trump's intervention did not help. On the contrary, it only exacerbated the situation: football fans around the world rallied against the U.S. team, which did not ask for it, and cheered even more fervently for Belgium when they eliminated the host country from the World Cup.
"At this point, Trump's support looks less like support and more like a curse," wrote one social media user. Another added: "Trump stuck his nose where it didn't belong. As a result, the world hates us even more than before and emboldened Belgium. I wanted the U.S. to win, and now I wonder if we would have won if Trump hadn't intervened. ETTD: Everything Trump touches dies."
Another user wrote: "4:1 in favor of Belgium, and Trump's meddling on behalf of the U.S. team ultimately doesn't matter because his curse always prevails."
Exaggeration? Not at all, if you look at the facts.
The problem for Trump, who seems long overdue for an exorcist, is that his "reverse Midas touch" has manifested more than once: he appears to have brought misfortune to sports teams before.
"He cursed the Knicks in Game 3, and now this. The Trump curse is real," wrote one X user.
Just recently, Trump attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals featuring the New York Knicks — and that was their only loss in the series.
Knicks fans blamed Trump for casting a "curse" on the team, and some even decided to "cleanse" Madison Square Garden with sage — a ritual known as "smudging," where sacred herbs are burned to expel negative energy and promote healing.
It seems to have worked: the Knicks won the series, finishing it in five games.
An additional argument for the Trump curse theory was last year's NFL game between the Washington Commanders and the Detroit Lions. The Lions ended up winning, and Trump, who was present at the game, was booed.
Then Trump showed up on the first day of the 2025 Ryder Cup on Long Island, New York. At that point, the U.S. golfers were trailing Europe 1:3. Trump told reporters, "We will do it. One way or another, we will do it."
The day ended with the U.S. team trailing 2½:5½, and ultimately Europe won the tournament 15:13.
Still don't believe it?
In February 2025, Trump openly supported one of the teams in Super Bowl LIX, predicting that the Chiefs would beat the Eagles. Guess what happened next? The Eagles won 40:22.
So, is Trump a bad omen for sports teams?
Football fans seem to believe so. They think that if Trump hadn't interfered and tried to make everything revolve around him for divided glory, the U.S. team could have beaten Belgium. Yes, you can't win all the time, but the number of examples is growing.
Our advice? Since Trump has no intention of staying away from sports, look for the silver lining and use the following cheat code: whatever team Trump supports, bet on their opponent. So far, it works.
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